


Tomorrow

by JB Harris (LizAna)



Series: The Janto Files [5]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Confessions, Definitely Kissing, Episode: Big Finish Audio Drama 2.5: Broken, Kissing, M/M, Minor Angst, What Happened After, janto, minor smut, sensual scenes but not overly explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-01 08:17:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13994244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizAna/pseuds/JB%20Harris
Summary: Picks up directly from the end of the Big Finish audio Broken (which slots in between Greeks Bearing Gifts and They Keep Killing Suzie). Ianto has kissed Jack and they've agreed to "just this once" but what is that really going to mean for the two of them?





	1. Chapter 1

“Just this once,” Ianto agreed, repeating Jack’s words, heart skipping against the inside of his chest.

“Tomorrow we go back to whatever passes as normal in our lives,” Jack continued, almost a hint of warning in his tone.

“Tomorrow,” he replied with a nod.

Jack stared at him for a long silent moment, expression inscrutable, as though maybe he was debating whether this was really a good idea or not.

Ianto’s pulse thrummed, desperately hoping Jack wouldn’t change his mind. So much had happened between them—tonight and in all the months since he’d started with Torchwood Three. After Lisa, he’d blamed Jack, thought he’d hated Jack. But tonight, after sending Jack through the rift and then getting the call from his mum, it had hit him that he didn’t hate Jack at all. In fact, the complete opposite had been true.

From the first moment he’d met Jack, helped him with the weevil to get himself into Torchwood Three, there’d been a little something extra between them. It’d been especially apparent when they’d ended up on the floor of that warehouse together the night they’d captured Myfawny. At the time, he’d still been blinded by his love for Lisa, and simply told himself it made it easier to keep Jack distracted from the truth he was hiding in the bowels of the hub.

He’d enjoyed their increasingly suggestive flirtation, but hadn’t allowed himself to think too closely about it. Truthfully, it’d made his own working hours easier, taken his mind of Lisa, until it’d gotten to the point he’d eagerly looked forward to starting each day, making Jack his first coffee for the morning and wondering what kind of comment he could expect to set the day’s mood. How many times Jack would casually touch him or brush close to him over the day. And then he’d started dreading the evening when everyone else would leave, and he’d pretend to go home, only to sneak down to Lisa. Then the pain would start again. Some nights it’d been all he could do not to go back up into the hub and beg Jack to help him.

The thought had crossed his mind several times in the weeks leading up to the disaster of Lisa’s final day. But he’d known in his guts that Jack would be just as likely to condemn Lisa as help her. And he’d been right.

“You’ve gone quiet,” Jack commented, having pulled the SUV back onto the road. “Having second thoughts?”

“No,” he replied. “I was thinking about Lisa.”

The admission came out of its own accord. He didn’t know if it was simply his wrung-out emotions, or all those pints he’d drunk before Jack had turned up at the pub. But he found he didn’t want to hide from Jack any more. He’d done that once before, and look how that’d turned out for him.

“Ianto—” There was an odd tone to Jack’s words. “I’ve never—I tried, probably not hard enough, to talk to you. And I know we’ve been over this, but that wasn’t Lisa.”

“I know that now. And I don’t blame you. The Lisa I knew died at Canary Warf. I realised tonight I wasn’t angry at you for killing her, I was angry at you for not—” He took a breath, emotion welling in his chest. “I was angry at you for not saving me.”

Jack had pulled up in front of his flat and turned to stare at him, brow creasing. “You wanted me to save you?”

“I don’t think I realised at the time that’s what I wanted, but it hit me tonight. I wanted you to help me. To save her like you save everyone else. I needed you, and instead you sent me back in to kill her myself.”

Jack glanced away from him, regret chasing across his features before he schooled them into his usual impassive mask.

“I shouldn’t have done that, Ianto. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking straight. All I knew was that you’d betrayed me. I’d trusted you in a way I’ve trusted very few people. You’ve got all the passwords to the hub and archives. I’d given you access the others didn’t have and you used it against me.”

Ianto clenched his fists, looking down into his lap as the guilt and shame at what he’d done to Jack returned.

“I’m not proud to admit it, but I think part of me wanted to punish you, to hurt you the way I was hurting,” Jack continued in a low voice. “Once you went down into the hub and I started to cool down, I realised what I’d done, not to mention Gwen gave me more than a small piece of her mind. That’s why we came down after you. I knew you wouldn’t be able to do it, and you shouldn’t have had to.”

Ianto took an unsteady breath. This hadn’t been his intention, to rehash it all. He just wanted to put it all behind him. But he could understand it. After Jack had set Myfawny on Lisa and forced him up the lift, he’d vowed to one day watch Jack suffer instead of saving his life. And tonight he’d followed through on it. But, like Jack, a few minutes of rational thought and he’d recognised the mistake he’d made. His volatile emotions toward Jack hadn’t just been the loathing and fury he'd told himself they were. Underneath that, he felt something else entirely for Jack, and it had exploded messily to the surface the second he’d realised on that alien world that Jack wasn’t breathing

“I’m sorry that I didn’t save you,” Jack murmured quietly.

“You don’t need to apologise. I’m not your responsibility.” He stared blindly out the windscreen at the darkened street beyond.

“But you are,” Jack insisted heatedly, drawing his attention. “As my employee, as my friend. And I haven’t been doing a very good job at looking out for you.”

Jack took a breath, making his shoulders expand. He ran a hand through his hair, obviously debating something in his mind.

“Ianto, I needed to know. Mandy said she saved your life. Her exact words were _I know what he tried to do the night you came back from…_ She was talking about the Brecon Beacons, wasn’t she?”

He shifted uncomfortably, not able to look at Jack.

“You’ve already guessed, do you need to hear me say it?”

Jack reached over a took his hand. “Ianto, please.”

He sighed and shoved his free hand through his hair. “I considered it. I had the pills Owen had given me, and a bottle of vodka. I took one pill and drank most of the vodka. I was thinking about taking the rest when I called Mandy. Luckily the vodka chose that moment to kick in and I passed out before I could decide.”

Jack’s hand tightened around his. “Would you really have done it?”

“I don’t know.” His stomach had started churning uncomfortably. “I honestly don’t. I’d thought about it. After Canary Warf. After Lisa. But those people in the Brecon Beacons—”

He shuddered as the memory of the knife against his throat, and the stench of blood and meat returned to his nostrils like it’d never left, making his stomach lurch.

“I can’t talk about this anymore.” He shoved open the SUV door and lurched out into the chilly night air, breathing sharply through his nose, trying to clear the smell he knew wasn’t even there. As he hurried up the footpath to his flat, he heard the other door of the SUV slam behind him, then Jack’s footfalls catching up to him.

When he reached his door, he pulled out his keys, but his hands were shaking too much to get them into the lock.

“Here, let me.” Jack gently slipped the keys from his grasp and then opened the door for him, pushing it wide to let him go through first. He silently led Jack up to the second floor where his small flat was located. Jack was still holding his keys and let them both in.

Ianto let out a small breath of relief as he stepped across the threshold. This place didn’t feel like home, not like the flat in London he’d shared with Lisa. But it’d become a refuge on the nights he selfishly couldn’t stand to stay with Lisa, or had simply been too exhausted from dealing with Jack and everything that Torchwood entailed.

He threw off his coat and suit jacket before heading into the kitchen, immediately pulling out a bottle of scotch. Automatically he grabbed out two glasses, even though he hadn’t asked Jack if he wanted any. After the night they’d both had, he doubted Jack would refuse.

Turning, he found Jack leaning against the kitchen bench, arms crossed, watching him closely. He murmured a thanks when Ianto handed over the glass.

Ianto tossed his back in one long gulp and then turned to pour himself a second, this time sipping it more slowly.

“Ianto,” Jack said into the heavy silence. “Next time things get that bad, please, call me first. I know I haven’t exactly proven otherwise, but I’ll try to be here for you, if you need me.”

“And if I need you now, tonight?” It had to be the liquid courage talking, because he’d never before had the daring to voice his confusion of feelings for Jack out loud.

Jack inclined his head. “Then I’ll stay. We can have another drink or two. Talk or not talk, whatever you want.”

Ianto set his glass down on the counter before looking back up at Jack, keeping his expression open. “I thought I made it clear in the SUV that talking isn’t what I’m interested in.”

Jack quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. It was clear he was leaving this up to Ianto. If he really wanted this to happen, he had to make the first move. He supposed that way, Jack was making sure the day after, he couldn’t claim Jack had taken advantage of him or overwhelmed his senses.

He shifted closer, plucking Jack’s half-drunk scotch out of his hand and setting it on the bench, the slight _clink_ it made loud in the silence. Returning his gaze to Jack, he found the other man staring at him in anticipation, but still not moving.

Ianto slowly reached up and slid his hand around Jack’s neck, fingers slipping into his hair at the base of his neck. Jack’s eyes darkened slightly, clearly enjoying it, but keeping himself frustratingly locked down.

Leaning in, Ianto brushed his lips lightly over Jack’s, teasing him, wondering what it’d take to break his resolve and get some reaction. Jack exhaled, breath swirling between them, something about it intimate and sending a flush of pleasure through him. Ianto tightened his hold in Jack’s hair and deepened the kiss, unable to resist the urge to sweep his tongue across Jack’s lower lip and then into his mouth.

Jack groaned and suddenly exploded into action, spinning them around and pinning Ianto against the bench, kissing him back with a passion that bordered on desperate. But Ianto was right there with him, overcome with the fervent desire that’d erupted in his veins. Jack was pressed against him from thighs to chest, their hips shifting restlessly against one other, the evidence of their desire obvious between them.

Ianto pushed at Jack's coat, shoving it off his shoulders and letting it pool on the floor of his kitchen, not even bothering to take care with the garment like he normally would.

Except Jack pulled back slightly, panting as he stared at him.

“Ianto, I need to know, and I’m sorry if this makes things awkward for you, but have you ever been with a man before?”

Ianto felt a flush rising in him that had nothing to do with the way Jack had been kissing him. “Does it matter?”

Jack gave a kind of half shrug. “It might. But only that I don’t want to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. If you want to stop at any time, no matter what we’re doing, just tell me, okay? I don’t want you to regret anything that happens tonight. I think between the two of us, we already have enough of those.”

“I’m not going to regret this, Jack.” It was probably a stupid thing to say. Who knew what he was going to think in the morning. But right now, he needed Jack in a way he’d never needed anyone else.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Jack murmured, leaning in to trail kisses along his jaw, leaving him moaning.

“No,” he replied in a low voice.

Jack leaned back to stare at him. “No you haven’t answered, or no you haven’t been with a man before?”

“You know exactly what I mean. Now shut up and kiss me.”

A smile flitted over Jack’s lips before he closed the distance between them and caught him up in another enthusiastic kiss.

Jack tugged him away from the kitchen bench, and they started making their way toward the bedroom leaving a trail of shoes and clothes and belts and his tie and Jack’s suspenders. By the time they fell in a heap of twining limbs on the bed, they were both completely undressed and breathlessly groaning at the sensation of naked, heated skin pressing together.

Ianto couldn’t catch his breath as Jack’s hands roamed over him. It was so different from being with a woman—Jack’s hands were large and slightly roughened, his touch firm and unhesitant, finding places on Ianto’s body he hadn’t even known were pleasurable. It felt so right, never once awkward, never once causing him to question what the hell he was doing in bed with a man when once upon a time he would have sworn he was straight.

With their hands all over each other, it didn’t last long, both of them so wound up with the adrenaline from dealing with the rift and the alien earlier in the night. As Jack collapsed next to him on the bed, Ianto almost felt a stirring of disappointment that that’d been it. But he was definitely feeling undone, the edge taken off the constant stress he’d been dealing with for what seemed like months.

He'd almost drifted off when Jack got up and went to the bathroom, returning a few moments later with a damp cloth. Ianto was too sated and sleepy to even move as Jack tidied him up and then pulled the blankets over him. He closed his eyes, expecting Jack would no doubt get dressed and head back to the hub. However, the mattress dipped again, cool air swirling over his skin as Jack slid under the blankets next to him.

Ianto rolled onto his side, facing away from Jack, but subtly snuggled backwards, gratified when Jack dropped an arm around his middle and pulled him closer, Jack’s chest pressed up against his back. This was probably a bad idea. They’d agreed just this once, and for some reason he didn’t think snuggling after and Jack staying the night constituted _just this once_.

He definitely wasn’t complaining a few hours later, however, when he woke to feel Jack pressed hard and heavy against him. He sleepily glanced over his shoulder to find Jack’s eyes closed, sleeping, but stirring slightly. Ianto reached up a hand, threading into Jack’s hair and kissing him on the jaw, enjoying the slightly abrasive feel of Jack’s stubble against his lips and tongue.

Jack made a noise of pleasure, before searching out his lips. This time, their kiss was languid and unhurried, the same pace Jack ended up taking him a few minutes later. It was nothing like Ianto had imagined, but in the best way possible.

As he drifted off to sleep for the second time, he couldn't fight the small wave of sadness that pinched in his chest. Jack had said that tomorrow, they’d go back to whatever passed for normal in their lives. Except for him normal had been pain and wretchedness and desperation for the slightest hint of light in the darkness.

He’d found the light. And the last thing he wanted to do was go back to the darkness tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack looked up from the papers and folders spread out across his desk as Ianto stepped through his office doorway carrying two mugs, one of them a familiar blue and white stripe.

Steam rose from the top of the coffee as Ianto set it down on his desk and Jack’s mouth started watering as soon as the scent hit the back of his throat.

“Did you find it yet?” Ianto nodded to the mess of papers before lowering himself to sit in the chair on the opposite side of Jack’s desk. He straightened his already straight tie before taking a measured sip of his coffee. Today he was wearing a dark maroon shirt, with a black and dark-red diagonally stripped tie, his waistcoat black with just the smallest, most subtle red pinstripe running through it. His hair was lightly gelled into shape, not a speck of him out of place.

And damned if it hadn’t been driving him crazy the past few days since the night he’d spent at Ianto’s flat. In Ianto’s bed. The contrast of his absolute togetherness, polite patience and occasional reticence, to his absolute abandon in passion hadn’t been far from Jack’s thoughts. He’d already seen that Ianto’s emotions ran deep, both from when the truth had come out about Lisa, and then the night they’d faced the Saviour and dealt with the alien sending people into slavery through the rift.

But he hadn’t allowed himself the consideration of what all that passion would mean in other certain areas. Because he might have flirted a hell of a lot, might have held a vague hope that something more might come of the attraction between them. But he would never have made the first move. He was Ianto’s boss, and Ianto had been through so much. He would have sworn a few weeks ago that Ianto would never forgive him for Lisa. And honestly, part of him had thought he probably didn’t deserve Ianto’s forgiveness after he’d handled the situation so badly.

Ianto had forgiven him, though. That and so much more.

The morning he’d woken up in Ianto’s bed, there hadn’t been any of the awkwardness he’d been dreading that usually followed a one-night-stand, especially one that involved work colleagues and the boss. Ianto had rolled over and stretched, an almost shy, but adorable smile crossing his features. One Jack had rarely seen but immediately knew he’d do just about anything to see again. Ianto had then mentioned something about a shower, and next thing he knew, they’d been under the gentle steaming spray of warm water. Getting clean, however, had been the furthest thing from both their minds. When they’d finally emerged, they’d forgone coffee at Ianto’s flat, but headed straight into the hub together, chatting and joking easily about things. Jack had even uncharacteristically hovered while Ianto had made them both the first coffee of the day.

From that moment on, things had been easy between them. They’d gone back to what passed as their usual flirting—if not a little more suggestive and risqué, which left the team rolling their eyes and Owen occasionally making gagging noises. He was sure none of them had any clue what’d happened between them, however. The team just accepted it as part of their unusual friendship, because it’d been that way from the start, before everything had happened with Lisa.

Now, however, the flirting had a different undercurrent. An awareness of what could be. Almost like a whispered promise. And that awareness was getting harder and harder for him to ignore. From the occasional lingering look he caught Ianto sending him, seemingly innocent touches that he guessed were anything but, he suspected Ianto may have been feeling the same way.

Except he’d meant what he’d said. One time. He’d done relationships at work and they never turned out well. After Lucia, he’d sworn off them altogether. There were easier and less complicated ways to find companionship. Of course, he’d never counted on Ianto Jones.

Not to mention he was Ianto’s boss. It was a minefield waiting to exploded with one wrong step. Unfortunately, his logic wasn’t faring well in the face of temptation. Constant, toe-curling temptation that came in a package of perfect suits, cutting wit, quiet intelligence and understated efficiency. All of which was currently sitting on the other side of his desk, staring at him expectantly because he hadn’t answered his earlier question.

“Is something wrong?” Ianto asked before Jack could remember what he’d originally asked before he’d gotten distracted. It was becoming a serious problem. Maybe he needed to hit up a bar tonight and find someone else to distract himself with. Except the thought was vaguely distasteful and left him feeling unsettled.

“Just got a lot on my mind,” he answered, picking up his coffee and taking a moment to enjoy his first sip of the day.

“Anything I can help with?”

It was a question Ianto had asked any number of times before, except this morning, it sent his mind into imaging a definite kind of _help_ Ianto could give him, one that would lead Ianto to making one of his sexual harassment jokes. Except just one problem, Jack wouldn’t be joking in the least.

“No.” He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, since certain parts of him were starting to feel rather confined and uncomfortable. “Nothing for you to worry about. Just the burden of being the boss.”

Ianto nodded in understanding, wrapping both his hands around his mug as he shivered. Jack frowned, because it was actually quite chilly in here.

“What’s up with the heating today?” He usually didn’t feel the cold, but he was almost tempted to put his coat on.

“The heating system has been playing up. I’m going to go down and take a look at it as soon as I’ve finished my coffee. Hoping to get it fixed before the others get here or I’ll never hear the end of it from Gwen. Besides, the cold isn’t good for Myfawny.”

Like most of things in the hub, the heating system was a mixture of everyday technology enhanced with some scavenged alien parts. The main unit was down in the deepest parts of the archives, quite close to where Ianto had been keeping Lisa. Jack knew he didn’t like going all the way down there. Memories, Ianto had said offhandedly one day recently.

“Need me to give you a hand?” he asked, trying to sound causal. By the look Ianto shot him, he’d completely failed.

“I’ll be on comms if I do.” Ianto pushed to his feet, nodding at Jack’s mug. “Do you want a refill before I head down?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.” He held out the mug with a charming smile.

“Wouldn’t say if I did, sir,” Ianto replied smoothly as he took the cup and left his office.

A few moments later, Ianto wordlessly set a fresh coffee on his desk, body brushing his arm as he leaned in. Jack glanced up to thank him, telling himself he was imagining the intimate warmth in Ianto’s blue eyes. Even if he wasn’t, they’d had their one night and that was all he could afford to allow himself.

Ianto didn’t say anything as he disappeared down into the archives. The others arrived a little while later, Gwen complaining about the cold as Ianto had guessed. Jack told them Ianto was trying to fix it, then Owen griped about not having coffee. Jack’s suggestion that Owen make it himself was met with a middle finger.

Laughing to himself—even though he was starting to crave another coffee himself, Jack returned to his work. Except an hour later, he still hadn’t heard anything from Ianto and it was definitely getting colder. Was it possible Ianto was struggling with the alien components but was too stubborn to admit it?

Instead of contacting him on the comms—because he just knew Ianto would tell him everything was fine—Jack went down searching for him.

When he arrived in the room the heating unit stood in, he found Ianto sitting on an upturned wooden crate in front of it, screwdriver held in his mouth, both hands working inside the machine. His jacket was discarded nearby and he had his shirtsleeves rolled up. Jack sauntered over and leaned on the wall next to him, crossing his arms.

“How’s it going?” he asked as Ianto glanced up at him and took the screwdriver from his mouth.

“Almost there.” Ianto glanced at the watch on his wrist, eyebrows going up a little in surprise. “Sorry, didn’t realise it was taking so long. I suppose the others are complaining about the lack of heat and coffee. Did their whinging send you down here, or did you all draw straws to see who had to come find me in the dark depths of the archives?”

Jack pulled over a second crate and sat down next to him, peering into the machine’s inner workings.

“Neither. Just thought you could use a hand.”

Ianto sent him an exasperated frown that held a slight edge of insult to it. “I told you, I’ve nearly got it. But since you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful. If you can hold those wires back, it’ll make it easier for me to tighten this last component.”

“Here?” Jack pointed to a clump of wires snaking through the middle of the machine, sitting in front of some kind of control board. He started to reach for them, as Ianto nodded.

“Yes, just don’t touch the—”

“ _Ow_!” Jack yanked his fingers back as something inside sparked, shocking his fingers sharply enough that they felt burned.

Ianto set aside the tools he was using and quickly took Jack’s hand in his. “Let me see.”

Jack allowed him to bring his hand up into the light.

Frowning, Ianto studied them, and Jack could see the slight reddening on the tips. It’d heal within a few minutes. But it the meantime it was definitely smarting.

“You should probably get Owen to take a look at this,” Ianto told him as he brought his blue gaze up to meet his, leaving him a little too aware of how close they were sitting.

“It’ll be fine,” he answered, hoping Ianto wouldn’t think too much into it. He’d already died and revived once in front of Ianto, even though Ianto believed he’d given him CPR to bring him around. He’d started wondering how Ianto would take it if he knew the truth. Gwen seemed mostly fine with it, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready for Ianto to know yet. Not when telling people he cared about the truth had backfired on him so many times. He got an uncomfortable ache in his chest at the idea Ianto might think he was wrong, a freak. Too many friends had ended up looking at him that way, and he didn’t think he could handle seeing Ianto turn like that.

“Does it hurt?” Ianto was still holding his hand and didn’t seem inclined to let him go any time soon.

Jack sent him a grin. “It’s only a small boo-boo. Maybe I just need someone to kiss it better for me.”

He’d meant it as a joke, thought Ianto would make some kind of flirtatious jest back and that would be the end of it. They’d go back to fixing the heating system, then return up to the hub and share a few exasperated looks over Owen and Gwen’s bitching until the heat returned and they all got their coffees.

Except Ianto pulled his hand over and slowly, keeping hold of Jack’s gaze the entire time, kissed the pad of each finger.

Jack stopped breathing, watching entranced as Ianto returned to the first finger and this time let his lips linger, taking the tip of Jack’s finger into his mouth and sucking on it gently. If his fingers had been hurting, he sure as hell couldn’t remember now.

His entire body was on fire and he was trying to remember why he wasn’t supposed to touch Ianto, except his mind was drawing a complete blank.

Ianto lowered his hand, but started forward, even as Jack came in, meeting him halfway as their mouths came together hungrily. Ianto clamped a hand on the back of his neck and then tumbled him backwards off the crate to the floor. Jack caught Ianto as he came down on top of him, pulling him in tighter until the only thing between them was layers of clothing.

For a few long moments, Jack was caught up in the simple pleasure of Ianto kissing him deep and desperate, at the soft moans and bated breaths, at the firm weight of Ianto on top of him. But then all of a sudden it wasn’t enough. He found Ianto’s belt buckle and had his trousers undone in a second flat.

Ianto gasped a breath and pushed up to stare down at him. His cheeks were flushed and his lips slightly swollen. Jack couldn’t ever remember seeing anything sexier.

“Just to be clear, we’re about to shag on the floor of the archives in the middle of the morning with the team waiting upstairs for us to fix the heat.”

Jack shrugged, as far as he could while lying on the floor still holding onto Ianto’s belt.

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Thought so.” Ianto came back down and caught his mouth once again, this time the kiss somehow more driven, a definite intent behind his actions as he impatiently started unbuttoning Jack’s shirt, tugging it from his pants a moment later.

They didn’t fully undress, it was too cold and the risk of getting caught—a small guilty thrill went through him. If one of the team came down here looking for them, there was no way to hide what they were up to. But Jack didn’t care enough to stop. They got just enough clothing off between them to be able to caress and touch and enjoy one another.

“I think it must be my turn,” Ianto murmured in his ear, making Jack pause to look up at him with a small amount of confusion.

“Your turn?” he repeated. Surely Ianto didn’t mean—

“Oh yes,” there was a definite wicked glint in Ianto’s eyes and a moment later, Jack had his answer.

_Just this once_. The thought came and went in a single breath. He’d known the moment Ianto had kissed him in his kitchen a few nights ago that once would never be enough, even if he’d desperately been pretending otherwise. Ianto Jones was a damn good kisser. And what had followed that night had been somewhere around the level of mind blowing. Just like now. It was hard, quick and dirty, but hell, it was everything he needed.

After, Ianto collapsed on top of him and Jack held him close, sharing body heat as the chill of the space around them finally registered, both of them catching their breath.

“We might have a problem,” Ianto murmured, but Jack didn’t read too much into, considering the teasing note in his voice.

“You mean the bruises I’m going to have from the way you—”

“No.” Ianto gave a quick laugh as he sat up, but there was a hint of concern in his gaze. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Of course not.” Jack rubbed his hands up and down both Ianto’s arms in a comforting gesture. “So what’s the problem, then?”

“I seem to remember we agreed _just once_. Not that I’m complaining.” There was something in Ianto’s gaze now, maybe vulnerability, hope, a mishmash of volatile emotions that he tried to hide by dropping his gaze.

“We did,” Jack agreed thoughtfully. “But maybe we need to revisit those terms.”

Ianto looked back up at him, blue eyes much more placid now. “Does there have to be terms? Can’t we just— I don’t know. Not decide anything. Just enjoy ourselves. Whatever happens, happens?”

It’d never work. Not long term. But Jack found himself unable to tell Ianto that, not if it was going to bring those shadows back to his gaze. Besides, Jack was hoping for once something could be simple. Ianto wasn’t looking for love or a relationship—the same way he wasn’t. In that way, there were perfectly suited to one another. And the past days had shown that their working relationship didn’t need to be affected in the least… apart from the moments they found themselves half naked in the archives. This didn’t need to be a thing. They didn’t need to be something to each other. It was satisfying and convenient for both of them. What more could he ask for?

“Whatever happens, happens,” Jack agreed with a grin. “As long as _this_ happens with regularity.”

Ianto leaned down and kissed him on the jawline, before scraping his teeth lightly over the spot, leaving Jack shuddering. “Oh, I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

He gave a laugh in return as Ianto pushed to his feet and stepped back to start putting himself to rights.

“I feel like work is suddenly going to be much more satisfying.”

Ianto raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t comment.

“I mean, I get Ianto’s coffee… and I get Ianto. You’re going to ruin me for any other employees for the rest of my life.”

“That’s the plan,” Ianto replied in a low voice with a quick smile that was nothing short of wicked.

Jack groaned as he rolled to his feet. “Come on, we better get the heat fixed and get back up to the hub before I forget why we can’t spend the day naked in bed together.”

Ianto looked thoughtful as he resumed his seat and picked up his tools. “Definitely we should do that. On the weekend.”

Jack couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked forward to a weekend. Or the last time he’d planned to do anything other than work. And today was Friday.

Suddenly, tomorrow was looking very promising indeed.


End file.
